Saturday, 22 December 2012

More baking ensues

... and this time I have another go at the Maple and Pecan Pie, as well as a Greek Honey Pie, or Melópita.

I did the pecan pie again because my brother who comes home on weekends wanted to have a slice, but there was no way I could have kept it for a whole week without finishing it.

This time, my mum told me that the pure maple syrup was out of bounds, (it's expensive) so I had to resort to the cheap old maple-flavoured syrup. It didn't taste as good and maple-y, but it's a maple and pecan pie, which still tastes good no matter what happens to it, so hey.

My my, that is one ugly pie

In this round, disaster happened. Trying to improve my pie, I went ahead and toasted the pecans prior to baking, placing them on the topmost rack in the roaster oven. They quickly burnt and I ended up scraping the blackness off each nut! That made the nuts edible, but there was still a burnt taste. It was a moment of despair, as pecan nuts are expensive in Singapore, and my mum never hesitates to remind me of the fact. Either way, I finished the last bit of pecan which has become part of the pie. And that pie was good.

You're welcome for the foodporn

The texture was less runny, maybe because the syrup used was thicker, and I had it in the oven for a long time. The shortcrust pastry was crumbly and annoying, so I'm going to intensely study this video of Gordon Ramsay bouncing on his toes like he's on crack while demonstrating the correct way to make a shortcrust pastry pie shell.

I put the pecan pie aside and worked on the 'honey pie' recipe I found on foodgawker, which looked relatively simple and interesting, so I tried it.

4 medium-sized ramekins250g soft ricotta cheese (or cottage cheese if you're on a budget)65g honey2 eggs~ ⅓ tbsp corn flourTiny pinch of saltDrop of vanillamore honey and cinnamon to serve (optional)Preheat the oven to 180°C.In a bowl mix all ingredients with a whisk wire or just a fork, until completely incorporated.Butter the insides of the ramekins, and pour mixture evenly into each one.Bake for 30-40 minutes or until golden.Serve Melópita warm or at room temperature drizzled with honey and dusted with cinnamon.To be honest the outcome tasted just like mini regular baked cheesecakes to me. I might experiment more with this recipe... maybe it needs a little more honey or something, to have it actually taste like a honey pie rather than just plain old cheesecake. The cinnamon and honey toppings do switch it up a bit, so I recommend having those on top. Even if you don't like cinnamon. Put it on, so that it tastes exotic and different, at the very least.That's it for the amateur baking disaster report and just remember: do not toast nuts on the topmost rack of the toaster oven. Do not toast anything on the topmost rack of the toaster oven. Do not even put the rack on the topmost shelf of the toaster oven. But yes you can still use the toaster oven.